


Demons painted in the Sistine chapel

by Grumpymagizooligist, kittybaba (Grumpymagizooligist)



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Antichrist Adam Young (Good Omens), F/F, F/M, Gen, Grudge, M/M, Mild Smut, Multi, No Beta, Other, Post-Apocalypse, Post-Canon, Warlock Dowling Needs a Hug, angels are a bit rubbish too, demons cant make plans, the wrong boy to lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2020-12-27 01:40:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21110579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grumpymagizooligist/pseuds/Grumpymagizooligist, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grumpymagizooligist/pseuds/kittybaba
Summary: "Well, that adds a new dynamic to all this. I’m still wondering why Crowley and Aziraphale kept me away from you for so long, we could have been friends ages ago…”Warlock had the strangest feeling that even if he hadn’t already decided he quite liked Adam, he would have left tonight with a new friend, even if he didn’t want one, it was something in the way Adam said it.“Do people ever not like you?” Warlock questioned.“Nah, it’s my charming personality.”“Not ‘The Voice’” Warlock did the air quotes this time, Adam grimaced but nudged him forward, already it felt like being in Adam’s presence was the most natural thing in the world.It's been quite, a little too quite in the eleven years since the world didn't end.It can't last forever.





	1. Chapter 1

Warlock was a lot of things.

Since being able to comprehend the words bartered about in his general direction he had gained knowledge about what others thought him to be; Warlock was the son of a powerful man, the firstborn son of a diplomat and his career-driven wife. He was the apple of his father's eye, the spark in the heart of his mother and made them both insanely proud. Warlock would be a great leader someday, follow in his old mans lead and find a wife and raise more strong leaders of his own.

Warlock was an Angel, Warlock was hellspawn, Warlock would lead the armies of the damned, Warlock would stand against evil when he saw it…

Warlock was unsure who all these other versions of him were, or where the other versions of him liked to hang out, but it wasn’t here, or in the confused reflection that stared back at him.

When he looked in the mirror now, he really didn’t recognise the face that stared back at him.

The face looked back, it looked terrifying, it wasn’t a face that belonged to the leader of men and the champion of the damned, it was pail and angry and so very very scared.

He wished more than ever that he had taken the easy way out, cut the corners and just followed in his father's footsteps, but no, he had to do this. He had to follow up on this, just this once he was going to do what he wanted to do. 

Shrugging the faded black jacket on over his shoulders he ruffled the spiked part of his hair, smoothed down his fringe and sighed. Hooking the sunglasses from his pocket and on to the bridge of his nose, he slid behind the persona that he had created and took a deep breath, he could do this, he had to do this, he just wished it wasn’t alone.

  
  


Warlock scanned the crowd, he wasn’t sure why, it wasn't as if his parents would be there to support him, in fact, he would be surprised if they even knew about the night at all. Part of him wondered if his parents even realised that he had a bachelors of art or if they were still pretending that he was off studying social politics in the far east somewhere. Maybe they found comfort in the lie they told themselves about him, that he was the golden boy who did no wrong. If they did it was never mentioned on the few occasions that called for him to be in the same room as them, weddings, funerals, Christmas when he could be bothered to travel to the states to spend it with them. They never came to him. Ever.

Warlock hung back, he should be enjoying the night, all these people here to see his art, but his heart wasn’t in it. 

He watched for the face he wanted to see, the faces he always hoped would turn up to these things, in one of there various personas, he sent an invitation to the Bookshop in SoHo but he wasn’t sure that they would have received it, every time he had ventured that way recently the lights were out and the door barred to even him. 

Nanny Crowley was busy, they had a life of their own, and he was an adult now, he didn’t need his old nanny. Only, the nerves that ran through him they would be soothed by a little bit of chaos. That was what the two of them brought to his life chaos and madness, but also home, a home he really hadn’t found anywhere else. In all fairness, he wasn’t sure who could reach the high standards set out by his adopted parental figures an actual semi-retired angel and a fallen angel would be an act that was hard to top. 

Maybe that was why he struggled to find a place to call home? Maybe that was why he never really found anyone to keep his mind occupied for longer than a week, maybe that was why he struggled to find lasting connections... Maybe this was all a little too deep before he finished his first craft ale of the evening. He emptied the can and threw it in the bin before flagging down the hipster bartender his agent had hired for the night. This was Camden they had there pick of any sort of desperate tortured souls to work his bar and they picked a cookie-cutter hipster? He needed a better agent, obviously, this one had not been listening when he gave the aesthetic brief. He had a man bun. A fucking man bun… And nobody had any right to wear black trousers that tight unless they were Nanny Crowley, an overwhelming urge to take the scissors out and cut the bun off was itching at him, he could probably get away with it, what with the tortured artist thing he had going on at the moment, plus it would be good publicity. A man bun? Warlock pulled the tab on his IPA and tried not to let it bother him so much. It wasn’t the fact that it was a man bun, it was the fact that someone looked at his art and thought that that was what would compliment it? He was sure he had said ethereal? Is that what was ethereal these days? He wasn’t sure, but the only person he had ever seen pull off the man bun and not look like a prat was Nanny and maybe that cute barrister across from Ezra’s bookshop. And that guy who worked on the counter at the British Library… ok so he wasn’t completely against the man bun… just not at his exhibit! 

He downed the second drink of the night and watched as people who clearly had no idea what his work was about milled around looking at the paintings at the sculptures that surrounded the walls, why was he nervous? 

“For someone who wasn’t there, he got it pretty damn close.” 

Warlock looked up from his third ridiculously named beverage, searching for the source of the voice he knew so well. The owner was easy to spot. The deep red of Nanny’s short red hair stood out against the stark white of the painted brick wall, the sunglasses were present as ever and today the suit was dark black with a red shirt and deep red shoes. He knew without looking Ezra would be at his side looking like he walked straight out of one of the paintings that hung around the walls. 

"I do worry about the fact that nobody has a face, maybe we should speak to him about it ?" Sure enough, there was Ezra, a walking dictionary definition of the English gent. 

"Figured you wouldn't want people seeing your mug all over art prints Ezra, keep a bit of a low profile … plus Nanny gets a tad possessive. Couldn't possibly have people having pictures of you hanging in the living room." The Angel spun to face him the smile danced across his face, Warlock grabbed a glass of wine from man bun as he passed and handed it to Aziraphale with a wink.

"Kids right Angel, it's bad enough knowing you're naked on a church ceiling somewhere anyone can see you …well everyone but me " Nanny Crowley's voice was right next to his ear then. Warlock sunk into its tones like a warm hug. He knew they would come.

"You came !" 

Warlock let his persona to drop, wrapping Nanny in a bone-crunching embrace. 

"Like I was going to miss my little hellspawn's big day!" Nanny Crowley reached out straightening warlock sunglasses. "I especially like what you did with a model of the Bentley, that one over by the door, Best of Queen CDs. The Bentley will be so proud." Warlock could feel the pull of a grin as he looked up at the man-shaped being in front of him, all he wanted was to make Nanny happy, finally, he seemed to be doing something right. 

The pride swelling up in him threatened to spill over and he could see the vultures from the culture blogs hovering on the outside of this family reunion. Warlock took a quick swig of his pint and took a step back. As much as he loved his chosen family it would do no good to drag them into the spotlight. Part of the real reason he had restrained painting the faces on the figures in his art, he would hate for upstairs and downstairs to use him as a tool for there own revenge. 

Nanny cast him a look over there own sunglasses quizzing the sudden change of Warlock's stance, he nodded in the direction of the 'influencers' rolling his eyes. 

"One of yours? " he asked casually

"Nothing to do with me kiddo, they did that themselves. Seeds of destruction and all that jazz" 

"Still, best keep a low profile?" 

Nanny looked around the walls of the exhibit and gestured at the sculptures and the art hanging for everyone to see …"I think this might be the exact opposite of a low profile." 

Aziraphale must have sensed the bickering about to start, for he tried to cut it off in its prime sliding in between nanny and warlock "So sorry we didn't get here sooner my boy, but well, we had to sort out a temporary problem just outside Ipswich." Aziraphale helped himself to another glass of wine from topknot Tim the man bun barman, making sure to grab one for Nanny as he did so. 

"The climate change rally?" Warlock asked.

Nanny nodded as he took the drink from Aziraphale. "A little bit of trouble with a couple of our other charges. I hope you understand?" 

"By other charges do you mean---"

Warlock was cut short by the sound of smashing CDs as they tumbled across the floor.

"Well done Brian! That was probably worth more than Wensleydale makes in a week." 

Looking up at the source of the crash was akin to a tableau from a greek tragedy.

Warlock had never met Them, not in person. He had  _ seen _ them before, in the visions that prodded him to paint and draw and create…he was shocked to see his vision hadn't been far from the real deal… standing by the door looking a little uneasy at the sudden attention were quite clearly Pepper and Brian. Changed and grown somewhat from the eleven-year-olds that haunted his mind but quite clearly still the same people who had always existed on the outside of his life never quite reaching it. In another life, they would be his friends. In another life, the apocalypse might well have happened.

Pepper glared at him her hair piled high on her head and arms crossed challenging him to say something about the destruction around her. Brian stood next to her arms full of dog and looking like he wasn't quite sure how he had gotten there, he just looked confused at the chaos around him. Warlock instantly started scanning the crowd… if they were here then so was Adam. 

It had been eleven years since the world hadn't ended. 

It had been ten years since Ezra had sat him down over afternoon tea and explained everything. 

The visions had been too much for Warlock to comprehend, he had failed to sleep properly for months, become unbearable to be around and unknown to him Nanny Crowley's ever-vigilant eyes had never really strayed all that far even after she had officially left. 

Warlock had taken the news that his old nanny was now a man called Crowley with initial confusion but no more so than the realisation that Brother Francis didn't actually look or talk as he had when he used to tend the grounds of his parents' estate.

Nanny hadn't been happy but the nightmares were torturing Warlock and Nanny couldn't stand back any longer and watch it destroy him. 

A few words and Warlock suddenly had an uncle Ezra on his mother's side that had always been part of the family, who visited on occasion and had all the time in the world for his nephew Warlock. 

Nanny remained Nanny. Some habits were hard to break especially when the people involved were quite happy with the arrangement.

Aziraphale hadn't messed around explaining everything. He didn't sugarcoat the swap. Warlock wondered how much Nanny reprimanded him later over it all. 

Warlock was just happy that it all started to make some sort of logical sense, he could push the idea that his parents really were not his parents out of his mind. They hadn't been much of a family unit to start with. Plus he got Nanny and brother Francis back in his life, he could take the end of the world and being 'not the antichrist' if it meant he didn't lose them again. 

Currently, the 'not the antichrist' was busy looking for the actual antichrist, who was this person who had his real life? How much alike were they ? Did they look the same? Would they hate each other? Would any of it matter ? 

Warlock often felt that the two of them were deliberately being kept apart, either by the world at large or by the timeless parental figures in both of their lives , he was never really sure. 

The sudden feeling of being watched washed over him. 

The curiosity of finding the other him had consumed him, he never thought that it may be returned, that Adam may be looking for him with equal parts intrigue and trepidation. Even if Adam wasn't aware this was Warlocks show before he got here ,he would know now. Adam’s face blurred out in paintings and scratched out on sculptures. An idea not fully formed. Adam's face was the one that never really sharpened in his mind when the nightmares called. 

Maybe it was all a coincidence, or maybe it was something deeper that he wasn’t drunk enough to comprehend yet, either way there was no escaping the cronicaling of the confusion that surrounded every person that was connected in this stable arch gallery in Camden lock. 

Aziraphale looked towards the chaos, waved his hand, and the dog-pepper-Brian shaped disaster suddenly wasn't. 

Everyone, except the beings in the know, acted as if nothing happened, however Pepper marched Brian over towards them, the dog now returned all four pads to the ground and tail wagging, sniffed at Warlock with intrigue. 

“Sorry bout that, Me and dog were just confused to where you found so many best of queen CDs. We figured Crowley's car ate them all… I’m Brian, by the way, this is Dog and that’s Pepper, don’t mind her, she’s just mad that Aziraphale un handcuffed her from a gas tanker earlier… she was mid-lecture and everything!” Brian talked fast, maybe to just get a word in before Pepper piped up, because as soon as he finished she started talking. “What do you think about the natural resources we have precious few of being used to power our luxury items? ( at this point she glared at Nanny, it caused the heckles on the back of warlocks neck to stand up) We only have one planet and thoughtless companies and corporate man are destroying it.” she turned her attention back to Warlock, who had never been happier to be hiding behind a pair of Nannie's cast of sunglasses, this Woman was intense, but he hadn’t been dragged up the son of a diplomat and not learned a few things about dealing with hostile situations.

“I spent the summer break last year out with the sea shepherds, working on reducing the pollution off the coast, didn’t you write an article about it for them last year?” 

Pepper paused mid-rant, readjusted herself and glared at him.

“Maybe.”

“Yeah, it was a four-page slideshow that was on the website If you go have a look over on wall six I'm sure I used an excerpt for it on my work.” 

Pepper’s glare intensified, she looked at Warlock then at Ezra before storming off in the direction that Warlock had indicated. Brian stood open-mouthed for a second before following her.

“Well she’s something isn’t she?” Warlock found himself watching as she stood arms crossed in front of the section that held his character studies of her. Her face didn’t become any less fussy, Warlock already liked her. 

“If the ‘something’ you're looking for is Terrifying then yes.” Nanny polished off his drink and scanning for Manbun to give him another one. “Sorry about that.” Nanny indicated towards the restored Bently sculpture. 

“No harm done, I’m just so glad you came. Thank you.” Warlock was just about to suggest they find somewhere a little quieter when Mr Miller the agent came over, looking to bustle him towards the media waiting for him... 

“We won’t be far.” Nanny said gently pushing him towards the waiting vultures.

By the time Warlock had managed to sneak away, he was desperate to get away from the crowds. He hated talking about himself, why couldn’t they just come and look at his work, what did it matter who his family was or what his views on his Father's latest project were. 

He hated it. 

It was with little regret that he snuck out through the back door when nobody was looking, the welcome of the warm London night and the smell of the canal eased a little of the tension that pressed down across his chest and shoulders. 

He sunk down onto the upturned mail crate as he tapped his foot to the music drifting from the bar up the lane. He wished he didn’t have to interact with people like this, why did they have to live in the digital age? Bansky didn’t have to put up with this shit. 

Carefully, he took his sunglasses off and folded them into his shirt pocket, he wanted a tab, but he didn’t have any, he would have settled for another pretentious beer but he had left them all inside, apart from Nanny and Ezra, tonight had been nothing but stress, and he still hadn’t run in to Adam yet. 

It was all too much, why did he think he could deal with it all, tipping his head back to try and make out the stars through the murky London sky he let out a sigh.

“Penny for your thoughts?” 

Warlock almost jumped out of his skin, he thought he was alone, but looking now someone else sat in the shadows on the other side of the door. 

Warlock made a mental note trying to remember where his phone and wallet were upon his person, before remembering they were in the backroom of the Gallery. Oh great, he was going to get murdered and for nothing, not even a crappy second-hand iPhone he hardly ever used anyway. He tried to find focus on the figure, to make out some sort of features in the dim light. The stranger must have realised because he moved into the ally further, his face now lit with the pale green glow of the emergency exit. 

Warlocks stomach dropped. 

He may not have seen him in his nightmares and visions, but there was no doubt in his mind the person in front of him was Adam.

  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Whatever Warlocks imagination had done to the idea of Adam, paled in comparison to the man that stood before him. 

Warlock hadn’t known what to expect, maybe horns and a tail, this was the Antichrist after all, what he hadn’t expected was the overgrown mass of curls and the equally confused look upon Adams face.

“You ok?” Adams voice was gentle, he was genuinely worried about him, someone he hadn’t even met before. Had Ezra been having him on? This couldn’t be the son of Satan. He seemed far to nice.

Adam took the silence as an answer, reaching in to the pocket of his hoodie and handing Warlock one of the overpriced beers he had obviously picked up from inside.

“So you’re the famous Warlock are you?” he asked almost nervously.

“I dunno about famous, but yeah i'm Warlock” he nodded “I take it your the infamous Adam then?”

“Dunno about Infamous, but yeah, I’m Adam.”

The two of them observed each other, the night was quite apart from the constant buzz of the music in the bar up the lane, that got louder every time someone opened the door. The dullness seemed to hang heavy around them as they contemplated each other. He wasn’t sure if he was sizing Adam up, or comparing him to himself. They were a similar height and the eye shape was similar, but that was where the likeness seemed to end. Warlocks hair was raven black in comparison to the dusty blond of Adam’s. Warlock, while far from skinny was nowhere as well built as Adam. Warlock had spent so much time avoiding any sort of sports or having to interact with other people as much as possible. That had lead to a lot of time indoors away from the sun, and while he liked to run he avoided it unless there was a desperate need for it or if he felt that the only reasonable course of action would be to leg it as far away from his problems as humanly possible.

Warlock tried to work out if Adam was comparing himself the same way, the thought danced behind his expression as they took each other in. Adam’s eyes lingering on a curve of his collar or the way warlock fidgeted with the cuff of his jacket.

Warlock at a loss for what to say opened his beer. “thanks .” he nodded at Adam, who laughed.

“It’s your beer, I just stole it.”

“Can’t steal stuff if its free.”

“You can, if you stole an entire crate of the stuff, right from under old Topknot.” 

Warlock almost choked on his mouthful of liquid laughing, he caught Adam’s eye over the top of it and wondered at the look of mischief that lingered there. Adam most definitely had something compelling about him.

The laughter grew between them, both finding amusement in the others reaction.

“I really want to cut it off.” Warlock managed to say when he had finally calmed down. 

“What? His head?” Adam laughed.

“No just the bloody hair, it looks ridiculous.” he pointed at his own hair, Adam watched his hand like a dog following a treat.

“You mean you didn’t see the caterpillar that was on his lip?” Adam took another swig from his can, moving closer to him it was a subtle shift only noticeable by the street light that hung above Warlocks head and the way it illuminated the mans face . Closer Warlock could make out the freckles across his skin and the bits of face paint left over from no doubt helping Pepper attach herself to a tanker. “Seriously though did you not see his tash? It made him look like a serial killer from the seventies. At first I thought that it must be a joke, but…”Adam’s eyes grew wide. “I think he thinks it looks good!”

Warlock couldn’t help but laugh, he was warming to the stranger, whatever it he had been expecting, it wasn’t this. Adam seemed normal, Adam seemed fun.

“I fail to see how the management team looked at my art and thought ‘he looks like he represented the eternal struggle of good and evil’, unless that struggle took place in the bargain bin at Top shop.” 

This time it was Adam’s turn to snort so hard he choked on expensive hops. Warlock reached out patting him on the back to help dislodge the blockage.

“It’s all a load of crap anyway… if one more person asks me ‘what does it mean? Where do these ideas come from?’ I might actually kills someone, being nice is exhausting.”

Adam nodded his head in solidarity. “You really saw it all in a dream?” Adam asked quietly. “That’s what Crowley said, you weren't there, but you that you just knew it all?” 

Normally Warlock avoided the topic, but Adam was at the actual epicentre of it all, he could hardly say that he wouldn’t understand,if it had really happened to Adam.

“It wasn’t like that exactly. But yeah,I see visions of everything that happened, it's like I’m watching it through a badly buffering stream sometimes,others are like its in high def, it's so real that I can even taste it .” Warlock pulled at the tab on his can for something to do with his hands. “I never saw you. Just the idea of you.It’s nice to finally put a face to void that has been rattling around in my head for the last ten years.”

Adam seemed to glaze over, his eyes focused on something only he could see. Warlock waited, taking in the details of the man who could have had his life. Finally Adam seemed to snap back to reality, turning back to face him. “ What you doing hiding out here then?” he asked indicating the back alley.

“I am ...not… a people person, too many voices all talking at once and wanting things from me, sometimes I just want to be alone, you know? I’m sure you do. You just need to get away from it all. Away from all the noise, have a moment to breath.”

Adam nodded,he seemed to understand “Yeah I get that.” he polished off the rest of his can, before reaching in to his coat again, pulling out another beer. “That was part of the reason I was out here, it gets a bit much, having to keep an eye on everyone all the time. I like to duck out when the godparents are about, they might be the absolute worst Angel and Demon ever to grace the earth but they neutralise each other when there together.”

“Neutralised chaos.” Warlock suggested weighing it up for good measure.

Adam nodded “Neutralised chaos.” he tried out the sound of it on his tongue. “I think I like that.”

“I learned quite quick, one without the other is nothing but trouble.” Warlock looked up as the sound of laughter headed down the back lane towards them, he was used to the back streets of London, Camden was his second home his one bed flat not far from the lock had been the only thing that he had taken from his parents at the age of twenty one, aware that even if he were the best artist in the world, he would never be able to afford the rent in this part of London,or any part of London to be fair. Nanny had said that he could use the flat in Mayfair if he wanted, but there was something about the flat that made him feel uneasy, as if he were always being watched, it wasn’t a home, it had no comforts to speak of and no personality at all... and that was before he even started on the Neighbours. They all reminded him far to much of his parents, something he wanted to forget about if he could help it.

He had been living in flat shares and halls while trying to find his calling,at that time he had learned to read people well. Students even sons of rich diplomats were known to spend most of the time on the bones of there arse when it came to money and he had been no exception. Bar jobs and late night concerts meant a need night busses, Tubes or walking and only one of them were free. Wandering the streets of London after nightfall lead to him knowing the difference to loud fun and loud danger and the sound coming down the alley towards them was the latter. 

“Best get back in.” he nodded towards the sound, just as the laughter turned to something darker with the smash of a bottle.

Adam raised an eyebrow watching as Warlock took a step towards the door back into the gallery, when the door handle refused to turn under his hand Warlock attempted to push down the panic that started to grow in his chest. They were locked out and the only way back in to the Gallery was through the door along the side of the stable yard entrance. That meant that they had to go past the now loud screaming match that was taking place between the skinheads who had just fallen out of the pub. Warlock knew from experience that this lot were not the misunderstood Camden locals, these were the jaded too many years at the wrong end of a needle type that ate kids like Adam and Warlock for breakfast, Antichrist or not.

The voices came towards them getting louder each second. The panic in his chest held him in a vice. The next second Adam was at his side, looking up the street and smiling at the two men that rounded the corner.

The two men stopped dead in there tracks.

“Well Baz”  _ of course he was called Baz, they always were  _ “what do we have here?” this was about the point where one of them would single out Warlock as easy prey and pick on of his many attributes to latch on too, the hair, the sunglasses the way he dressed.

However, Adam had other ideas he stepped up and protectively placed his hand on Warlocks arm, a feeling of comfort radiated through him at the touch. Adam then SMILED. A smile with the capitals in every part of the beam. Both skinheads stopped in there path thrown by this turn of events. 

“Evening gents,having a good one?” Adam addressed the one known as Baz, Baz stumbled over his own feet as he took a step backwards almost crashing in to his friend. A strange vibrating sensation rippled through Warlock, he had a feeling it radiated from Adam himself.

“Now lads, I think you might have taken a wrong turn back at the top of that lane, maybe you want to go back up and hang a left?” 

Baz nodded, his face drained of colour as he stared into Adams face. Warlock looked also but Adam looked the same as he had only moments before while talking about neutralised chaos,maybe Baz was just really high? 

Both Baz and his friend fell over each other in there rush to get away from Adam, Warlock tried not to stare, but the reaction, it had come out of nowhere and he had never seen a skin head back down without a fight.

Adam turned to him grinning, the strange vibrating sensation dissipated. 

“What the hell was that ?” Warlock wasn’t exactly sure what had just happened, but maybe ‘what the hell’ was exactly the right turn of phrase.

Adam obviously thought so as he gave a little shrug. “ Still got a bit of the old man in me, comes in useful.”

“But what did you do?” Warlock wasn’t playing dumb,as far as he had seen Adam had simply told the men to leave and away they went.

“You didn’t see the red eyes?” Adam looked confused, tipping his head to the side like a puppy to observe Warlock.

“What red eyes?”

“No booming voice echoing in your head?”

“Should there have been?”

“Well … yeah… that’s how ‘The Voice’ works” Adam even did the air quotes.

Warlock slowly shook his head. He had most definitely not seen any red glowing eyes or heard any booming voices, considering he had been on edge and waiting for them ever since Adam had introduced himself, he felt a little robbed.

Adam contemplated this information for a moment before reaching around Warlock and opening the door that had previously failed to work for the artist moments earlier.

“Well that ads a new dynamic to all this. I’m still wondering why Crowley and Aziraphale kept me away from you for so long, we could have been friends ages ago…” 

Warlock had the strangest feeling that even if he hadn’t already decided he quite liked Adam, he would have left tonight with a new friend, even if he didn’t want one, it was something in the way Adam said it.

“Do people ever not like you?” Warlock questioned.

“Nah it’s my charming personality.” 

“Not ‘The Voice’” Warlock did the air quotes this time, Adam grimaced but nudged him forward, already it felt like being in Adam’s presence was the most natural thing in the world. He allowed him to steer him back towards the party, part of Warlock really wanted to keep Adam to himself just a moment longer, there was something about him, something that just felt right, as if the last eleven years finally made sense to him. Adam was so ordinary, well apart from the war paint from his afternoon of earth saving adventures. How on earth was this normal looking man the son of Lucifer? Yet somehow Warlock knew it was true, just as he had known that Nanny was a Demon and Ezra was an Angel, they just were and that was a fact.

As they re joined the party Nanny caught his eye, Nanny looked from him to Ezra, who gained a nudge in the ribs and a head nod in the direction that Adam and Warlock had appeared. Warlock had known Ezra long enough to know that he had no poker face, the look of worry that flashed there was genuine . it only lasted a second before Nanny grabbed him by the arm and turned them both away from him and into a secret conversation. 

Suddenly Warlock felt the same worry run through him, he just wished he knew why.

  
  
  



	3. Chapter 3

It had rained solidly for a week, in that time Warlock had left the flat for no other reason than to put the bin out, it was too peopley out there he was quite happy to stay in the darkness of his own creation and avoid any human contact at all if he could help it. 

The entire world could be delivered to him by the simple push of a button on the phone, a blessing, when he felt drained like this, even ordering a pizza seemed like it was one task too much, he was running on empty.

He watched the raindrops racing down the window, happy in his own company.

However being alone and being lonely are not the same beast, he trawled social media, something he avoided if he could help it, but curiosity had led him to wonder if Adam had an Instagram. Nanny did, pictures of rare first editions tracked down for Ezra , fancy dinners at the Ritz ( Warlock had been with them on several occasions, much to the amusement of the wait staff who had fussed over him in ways that made his skin crawl) recently sea views and rolling fields had started to sneak into the feed, Warlock wondered when Nanny would make the final move to the country that was obviously wanted so badly. He was lost in this musing for a while, forgetting what his original point of venturing into voyeurism was. 

He clicked on the followers' list and began to trawl the names. 

It couldn’t be that easy? 

‘Youngadam666’ 

Warlock tapped on the username, a nine by nine grid popped up, all nine showing a very happy terrier dog, extremely close up to the camera. Warlock felt the grin spreading across his face. He had been sniffed by that nose, that was Dog. 

He scrawled further, there was a lot of waggy tails and pointy ears. Adam had actually posted pictures that were not of Dog, but they were few and far between. A picture of Adam sitting on the railing of a wooden bridge caught his eye. Clicking on the image to make it larger he felt that strange tingling shift through him again.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


*beep* 

Yawning Adam rolled over on to his side and reached out for his phone, if this was Pepper wanting him to get up at six again to go lie in front of a bulldozer she could bugger off, he really wanted a lay-in. He had meetings all next week in London, tomorrow was his only day off.

The screen blinked to life.

*cultofwarlock liked your image* 

Adam blinked, he had been trying not to think about how quickly Crowley had separated the two of them at Warlock’s show, it had been so quick he hadn’t had time to exchange numbers, even though he really wanted too, he had so many questions. He typed in his password and clicked on the notification. 

It was a like notification for the picture Brian had taken over on Hogsback bridge, it was from months ago. He clicked on the name, it led him to a private page, no likes no followers. 

Well if this was Warlock he must have been trawling through his timeline to like something from so far down the list. That thought made Adam happy for some reason and with that, he made a decision.

*beep*

Warlock jumped as the phone vibrated. He wasn’t used to it making any noise, it was normally on silent, it also normally wasn’t in his hand. He looked down.

*youngadam666 asked to follow you*

“Shit.” he scrawled through his interactions…  _ shit shit shit.  _ He hadn’t meant to double-tap that picture, now he was going to look like a stalker, he wasn’t sure what to do.

Mild panic held him, if he wanted to make friends with Adam this might be a lifeline.

Didn’t stop him shitting himself though, The thought of Adam knowing he had been looking at his pictures filled him with dread.

But he wanted to know, he had been thinking about the man for a week, plus it was rude to ignore him, Nanny raised him better than that.

Tapping the accept button he jumped in feet first before he had any time to rationally think out a reaction. 

Almost immediately the DMS got a notification, Warlock smiled despite himself. 

*Warlock?*

_ *Adam?* _

*stalking me?*

_ *no*  _ he wrote even if his internal voice was saying yes. 

*yes* 

Warlock was at a loss for what to say, he grasped at the first thing that popped into his mind.

_ *you take too many pictures of your dog*  _

The dots popped up indicating that Adam was writing a reply, for some reason nerves seemed to knot in Warlock's stomach. 

*you can never have too many pictures of a good boi* 

Oh, there were so many things he could say to that if he wasn’t so cripplingly full of self-loathing and anxiety he tried to word it right before pressing send. 

_ *wouldn’t know I don’t have a good boi to post pictures of* _

Warlock read it back to himself … oh now that just sounded wrong, it sounded like he was trying to use a cheap chat-up line in a sleazy bar.

The three dots of doom hung in the air for a few moments, long enough for the screen to time out. Warlock cursed himself, he had spoiled it all before it had even started, he had actually thought he could make a friend in Adam.

Warlock was just about to give up when the phone buzzed again, with trepidation he picked it up. 

Swiping the screen open caused his heart to swell, Adam looked back at him sat on his bed in a vest top with the dog on his knee. The caption read, ‘here. This is a picture of a good boi, just for you.’ 

Warlock wasn’t sure if Adam had meant himself or dog, but either way, he saved it to his phone.

*Your right, you can never have too many pictures of a good boi :)*

*told you so! I have to hit the sack, but talk tomorrow?*

*Yeah Tomorrow!”

*night Lock*

*nite Adam*

Warlock stared at the screen until it timed out again, well at least he knew it was really Adam, he threw himself back on his bed and spread out on his back discarding his phone to the side. What had just happened? He focused on a spot next to the bulb on the ceiling trying to ground himself. The antichrist had just sent him a selfie and he was happy about it. Even on his scale of weird, it was right up there.

His phone buzzed again.

*hey Lock, this is my number add me on WhatsApp* 

Warlock tried to comprehend what he was being asked, he had no idea what a WhatsApp was but he was compelled to find out. He quickly typed in his own number before the nerves froze him to the spot.

_ ‘Just dropping Dog off at mum’s then I’m off to catch a train’~A.  _ Warlock found himself grinning at the phone as it flashed to life, the photo of Adam and dog lighting up the lock screen, he was in the middle of brushing his teeth and preparing to face the outside world. A daunting task. but after a week of solitude, it was time to do it or he would turn into a recluse only to be dragged out by Nanny and marched off on some vague errand that probably revolved around ducks. The fact that Adam had seen fit to text him first wasn’t lost on Warlock. Was Adam as curious about him as he was Adam? It seemed like it.

_ ‘Where you off too? ‘~W _

_ ‘Work, U?’~A _

_ ‘Off to the studio, been skiving all week best get some work done’~W _

_ ‘Got to go to greek street, Down from Az’s got a meeting with my publisher, got a room in Euston for the week,’~A. _

So Adam was going to be in London all week? That seemed like a good a reason as ever to pop in and see Ezra, maybe a walk down was on the cards later today, if it happened to take him past Euston on his travels, well you bumped into all sorts in London after all. Curiosity was gripping him now, he kept finding out tiny snippets about Adam and it was causing him to dissect every tiny interaction the two had shared, every brief mention in conversation that had fallen from Nanny’s lips or overheard from Ezra. So Adam had a publisher? What did he write? What if Warlock hated it? That knocked him again, why would it matter if he hated it, he barely knew Adam, he was an acquaintance at best,  _ who am I kidding, I know exactly why it bothers me,  _ Warlock rinsed and spat into the sink sliding his toothbrush back into the holder. He tried not to think of the way his skin had felt as Adam touched his arm in the alleyway, or the strange pulling sensation whenever he thought of Adam just on the other end of the phone. 

He pulled his jacket on and his baseball cap down over his unkempt hair before sliding his sunglasses on and sticking in his headphones, The sounds of The Velvet Underground filled his ears as he stepped out the door into the chill of the crisp winter morning. 

  
  
  


Adam stood waiting for the train, the third great ball had failed to catch him the Rattata that seemed to gode him before ‘running away’ stupid pokemon was probably a ditto, trying its best to blend in even though it never felt like it belonged. That thought hit a little close to home causing him to exit the game without a second thought. He glanced at the time, the train was now twenty minutes late and he was getting impatient. He wasn’t a fan of travelling on his own, Normally he would have talked Brian into coming with him for a few days, but not this time, something was telling him that it might be best to make this trip alone. Anyway, it would be nice to spend some time with his godfathers without the others about. At least that was what he kept telling himself, it wasn’t like he hadn’t dropped enough open-ended clues to Warlock that he was on his own for a few days. Still, it wasn’t like he had texted back. 

It had been an hour, how long did it take to get to the studio?

_ ‘What you up to?’~A  _

The fact that Warlock hadn’t been able to sense his powers when he used them kept prodding away at his mind. There should be no real reason Warlock wouldn’t be influenced in the same way as anyone else, he was just a normal human, but still, Adam found himself relieved that Warlock seemed to be immune to him. If he was honest with himself he had spent more time than he should have this last week wondering about Warlock Dowling. He as a mystery and his frustration in that was added to further by the lack of any information gathered from Crowley as he drove, the Them back to Tadfield after the exhibit. He had thought that they had learned long ago that not giving Adam information when he wanted it would just drive him further towards the search for knowledge and the truth. Their silence was guaranteed to make him pursue it.

His phone vibrated just as the train pulled into the station, finding his seat he pulled up the message. It was a picture of paint-covered jeans and a giant pair of painted wings covered with many eyes. 

_ ‘wtf?’~A _

He looked up as the conductor took his ticket, his phone buzzed again in his hand. 

_ ‘You never seen Ezra?’~W _

Adam looked at the picture again, he had seen Azheraphales wings at the airbase that one time but they looked nothing like that, he was about to type the same when he hit a tunnel and lost his signal. 

Cursing Crowley and his stupid phone network Adam tried to resend. nothing. 

He didn’t regain a signal until he pulled in to Euston, his phone sprang to life as he stepped on to the platform. 

‘ _ You there?’ _

_ ‘Adam?’ _

_ ‘Sorry to bother you, I won't again.’ _

Adam cursed the world as he weaved between the rest of the commuters making their way out of the station, he stood in the square outside rationalising his choices. He looked at the time on his phone, he had all but missed the meeting with the publisher, if he ran he might make it… but something was tugging at him as he crossed Euston Square. He paused at the crossing waiting for the bus to pass when he made the decision. Turning left he changed course away from his original destination in SoHo, he had a vague recollection of where the gallery was, he would find that and ask questions. It couldn’t be that hard to find the studio in Camden Lock, not when he was the antichrist and he had an itch that needed to be scratched.

  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what you think?   
x  
p


	4. Chapter 4

The tell tale sign of Archie having been in the studios was evident when Warlock returned from the little Coffee cart on the corner, paw prints in burnt umber led across the studio and down under the busted up couch. The cat had probably chased a rat across half of Camden before ending up in the same unit he always ended up on cold days like these. Warlocks. Doing a quick inspection of all the pieces he was working on for feline interference, he headed over and sunk down onto the faded fabric couch, taking a sip from his coffee as he did so and patting his knee. 

Sure as the day is long the short fat tabby jumped up on his knee as soon as he sat down.

Archie didn’t belong to anyone, he was the community cat, the arches cat, hence the name Archie, he seemed particularly fond of Warlock , or maybe it was just because he had a warm couch to sleep on a cold night. Adam hadn’t text back, he had pushed it too far, he was being too eager, he had left his phone on the table by the window. Constantly checking it was driving him insane. So after finishing one of Ezra’s millions of eyes the decision to get coffee had been a good one,he had left the phone behind. Now he warmed his hands on the outside of the cup stroking Archie behind the ear trying not to be too disheartened with the lack of communication in the last few hours from Adam. 

The large piece he was working on goaded him, he wasn’t feeling it. Despite the fact that he knew what he wanted to draw he couldn’t commit it to the canvas. Irritated and in need of a distraction he reached out, only slightly upsetting the sleeping cat, and grabbed his sketchbook. He let his hand wander over the page, charcoal lightly leaving its trace where he so deemed fit , it wasn’t until he realized he had zoned out did he really look at what he had been drawing. It was outside of the studio and that was Adam . 

He ripped the page out and crumpled it up, throwing it across the room towards the bin.

Archie hissed before circling and making himself comfortable again. Warlock wished it was that easy. The pulling need to know more was growing in him. Adam seemed to be the best place to start, yet he had gone and buggered it all up. He tried to think about what he had said to scare Adam away? But all he could think of was how the light had caught him in just the right way in that alley, how he almost shone. The cat clawed at his hoodie as it made itself comfortable, a puddle of drool forming where it suckled at the fabric. Warlock didn’t have the heart to move him ,so left him as he drank his coffee and listened to the News playing on the radio in the next unit.

  
  


“Hold still, you need a picture for Instagram, the artist and his familiar! At least then, with at least one picture, you won’t look like such a stalker.” 

The voice behind him should have come as a shock, but for some reason he had half expected it. 

Warlock moved to look over his shoulder trying not to grin at the sound of the voice he recognised. Sure enough Adam stood in the door grinning with his phone in hand. He was dressed for a meeting, looked very much like he didn’t want to be. The shirt and tie combo was not a look that suited him, Warlock was happy to see that it hadn’t completely infiltrated his appearance, his converse stood out tatty against the rest of the ensemble. 

“Stalker? Look who’s talking! Thought you were in a meeting?” Warlock scooped Archie up as he got to his feet, glad to have something to occupy him, lest he fidget and show his hand. 

Adam was backlit in the hazy morning glow from the lock. Did he always manage to find the perfect lighting or was that just a demon thing? Crowley always managed to find the perfect spotlight to draw emphasis on whatever his overly dramatic point was, maybe it had rubbed off on Adam. If he was trying to look nonchalant he was failing miserably, he seemed to be picking at a loose thread on the belt loop of his trousers , he was nervous.

“Train was delayed, didn’t see the point in trailing all the way down there to miss the meeting and have to walk all the way back … and my room won’t be ready at the pokey travelodge till at least three…. So…” Adam looked at him hopefully, damn he was good at this, Warlock was almost agreeing before he had been asked, he dreaded to think what it was like to be on the receiving end of a full blast of the antichrist charm.

“You thought you would use your crazy stalker skills to find me?” Warlock edged closer to the door, he was aware that he looked like a tramp. His hair was a mess under the baseball hat and he had work clothes on that existed as a mix of about eighty percent paint and holes . Yes he had planned to coincidentally bump into Adam later, but he had also planned to not look like the test dummy at a paintball center when he did so.

Adam reached out to stroke Archie, the cats large yellow eyes narrowed but he allowed the stroke to connect, exactly three times no more , before launching himself off Warlock and out through the door.

“Your cat ran away.” Adam pointed out indicating over his shoulder.

“Not my cat.” Warlock shrugged, the cat had taken away the distraction to his hands, they began to fidget. He compensated by shoving the hand he had free into this pocket and tapping on the side of the coffee cup with his other. Adam watched him, fiddling with the straps on his bag ,obviously struggling with this as much as Warlock, which was strange because Ezra was always saying how confident Adam was, why should this be any different. Then it dawned on him, it was him that made Adam nerviuose, he had no idea what to do with that information.

“So how’d you find me?” 

Adam smiled, it was disarming and charming and it threw him. “Saw you at the coffee cart and I followed you, guessed you might have a place around here, you looked at home the other night and well Camden seems to suit you. I just…” he trailed off .

“Just what?” 

“I knew you would be here and here you are. Now, I dunno if it’s a coincidence... or if i made it happen?” 

“Nope, you didn’t make it happen, this is my allotted shithole, right down to the annoying drip that I can't find the source of.” he grinned. “You just couldn’t stand to be away from me a minute longer.”

An awkward silence hung between them. Why did Warlock suddenly feel like his joke had hit the point a little too close to home. Eventually Adam spoke “I should go.” he said indicating the door. The world seemed to shift, all Warlock knew was that he didn’t want him to leave. Reaching out he grabbed him by the wrist. 

“Don’t be stupid, I can shug off work, perks of being my own boss, plus... all I have to do is stick a bit of skin in this picture I’m doing of Ezra and Nanny will give me twice the asking price to stop me selling it.” he tried to keep the plead out of his voice and was convinced he had gotten away with it. It was worth an extra day of catch up when he saw the way Adam’s face lit up. “Sure?”

“If anyone asks, its research. After all,you are one of my spotlight subjects, you kinda are my work in a way.” Warlock was aware he was rambling, it didn’t make it easier to shut up though.

“Write me off as a taxable expense?” Adam joked.

“If I had any idea what one of them was, i think i'd say ...yes?” 

Adam grinned deeper, “it’s one of Wensleydales favourite jokes, whenever he takes me for lunch he likes to cite the fact that the antichrist is on his tax return as a business expense. Only he could find that funny.”

“I’m sure if I knew what a tax return was I would find it the height of sophisticated humor. But at the moment …” he shrugged. “I’m at a loss.” he gestured for Adam to come in further so he could pull the sliding door to the studio closed. It was threatening rain and he didn’t fancy tourists wandering in to hide from the joys of british weather, not when he finally had Adam an almost captive audience. 

Adam’s eyes darted all over the space, taking in the half drawn half rellised images that had never quite fully formed on canvas or been sculpted from scrap. The painting of Ezra stood tall in the middle of the room, all his many wings and thousands of eyes. 

“Aziraphale really looks like that?” Adam cocked his head to the side eyes trailing down the arch of the wingspan, “ All them eyes and still Crowley got past him? Must have been embarrassing for him? I mean it’s not like he hasn’t made up for it, the whole keeping an eye on the adversary, he gets a gold star for that these days. How does Crowley get away with anything?” 

“Bats and eyelid and says something sarcastic, the same as he has since the dawn of time.”

Warlock contemplated Adam, had he really never seen the real forms of the people he called his godfathers? In all fairness Warlock had only seen them in his visions.too look upon Ezra in his true form was probably not the healthiest of pursuits for him to try out and he hoped to someone that he didn’t have to. “Have you ever? You know seen them like this?” he asked cautiously, if ever someone was to have seen it , it would be Adam.

He shook his head still staring at the golden orbs painted on the canvas. “They did this thing, well Crowley did… back at the end of things. Crowley sort of … well... stopped everything. I dunno what he did but we weren't on the airbase anymore, you have the color perfect for Az’s wings by the way, but they need to be a little less neat. Never saw anything like this though… just bloody great black and white wings.” Adam looked at him then, his eyes blown wide with the realization of what he had just spoken aloud. Maybe it was the first time he had said it to someone who wasn’t actually at ground zero, but his look faded from shock to relief. Maybe it was the same sort of relief Warlock had felt when he finally met Adam and discovered he was someone he wouldn’t mind being confused for. 

Something Adam said niggled away at Warlock, digging into the crevices of his mind, looking for purchase. He stepped away in one fluid motion and rummaged through some discarded canvas until his hand found the one that he was looking for.

“Black wings?” He asked cautiously, Adam nodded, maneuvering to try and make out what Warlock had to show him. 

“Crowley has jet black wings, perfectly groomed, Only ever saw them once, shame they were damn impressive. Must get awkward trying to keep an eye on what interdimensional plane of existence you stick your wings.” Adam was rambling, Warlock recognised it as him being worried that he was saying to much, he probably was, but…

“Crowley doesn’t have wings… shouldn’t have wings, well not in any of the visions I have.” Warlock flipped the canvas showing Adam the image of a writhing mass of gasses and stars, nebula and cosmosses dancing over obsidian rings. 

“Is that before or after … you know… the whole getting kicked out of heaven thing?”

Warlock shook his head. “I don’t know anymore, but they both have wings hu?”

“Bloody big buggers.” Adam grinned arms stretched as far as they could go. He finished it off with a flap of his hand for effect “ So your telling me that Az is full of watchful eyes and Crowleys a big ball of gas? Seems like they never changed much then when there here on earth” he watched as the second canvas joined the first, aware of how close Adam was now, still stood there in his coat that looked wrong and his suit that looked even worse. 

Adam shot him a side glance .

“What?” he grinned

“Makes you wonder doesn’t it ?”

“Bout what?”

“Bout the fact that all of that, stars and wings and cosmos fit inside a human body, It’s a bit silly.”

“Makes you wonder where all the parts go.” Adam nodded in amusement, and the moment would have probably passed un noted if the two of them hadn’t locked eyes.

“Same place as everyone else's parts go I should imagine?” Warlock snorted with laughter .

“Well let's face it, whatever is going on here” Adam gestured at the painting of Ezra, then gestured to the painting of crowley “mixing with whatever is going on over here, would probably end a hot mess. I mean for a start where would all the eyes go?Imagine getting stardust in your eye, must be so much worse than....”

“ADAM” Warlock lost it at that point, laughing so hard his side began to hurt. 

“Oh so you do know how to smile, I thought you were just the tortured artist?” Adam nudged him slightly with his hip as he laughed along, “Although celestial smut seems to amuse you.”

“That’s Nanny and Ezra were talking about!”

“Still funny.” Adam fake huffed, Warlock found himself staring at the man, taking in the features of his face properly, he was somehow incredibly normal looking yet fascinating at the same time, the way his face changed when he smiled... _ oh shit.  _

Adam watched him, he seemed to be relishing in the attention, was this just how things were around him? Was this the effects of being around his persuasive personality? Warlock tried to shrug it off, maybe this was just how Adam was, he shouldn’t start trying to read more into this, Adam was just here as a friend, for all Warlock knew he could have a wife at home. 

He felt, rather than saw the look of confusion that passed over Adam as Warlock stepped away.

“So you have nothing to do till three then?” Warlock shoved his hands deeper into his pockets, finding a little comfort in the restraint. Whatever it was pulling him towards Adam, it was probably nothing. It could just be because someone was taking an interest in him for a change. He shouldn't read anything into it. Should he?

“Nah was hoping you might keep me entertained?” 

“What did you have in mind?”

  
  
  
  


Adam hadn’t known if it was a good idea or not, but as Warlock slid the door to the Studio closed behind them, he knew it hadn’t been a bad one. The nagging feeling that had been following him around all week seemed to subside now he had actually seen Warlock again in the flesh. He knew he was going to be in all sorts of trouble when he actually showed up at the publishers tomorrow but nothing he couldn’t gently nudge away with a little bit of occult will. It was worth it. 

Warlock nodded down towards the stable yard, indicating that was the direction for them to head, his hands pulling up the zip on his hoodie, before slipping his hands into his pockets and fishing out sunglasses. Adam hadn’t realised he had been staring until he caught his side on the bin. Recovering he nodded at the sunglasses. “They Crowleys?”

“Yeah.”Warlock shrugged sticking them on his face with a flamboyant twist of the hand, “I stole a set out of the Bentley, Not that Nanny is ever gonna miss one pair of Valantinos.”

“Why Nanny?” 

“Why Nanny what?” they fell into step as the rest of the Stables market came to life around them, Adam noticed that Warlock scanned the crowds constantly, checking faces all the time from behind the darkened orbs, It was almost like watching Crowley looking for mischief to cause, only Adam got the feeling Warlock did it to avoid having to interact with anyone or anything. 

“Why do you call Crowley Nanny?” he pushed.

Warlock stopped to let a man pushing a delivery cart past.

“Cause Crowley was my Nanny? What else would I call him?” the cocked eyebrow over the sunglasses wreaked of spending to much time with a certain demon growing up, the sarasm etched into the playful tone of his voice, did he have the swagger? 

“Alright smart arse” 

That gained a grin just reaching the crook of his mouth, dimples. Interesting.

“Youre the one that asked the stupid question.” 

Warlock swung to a left and headed into the indoor market. He slinked up the stairs, taking two at a time, the worn iron slippery from the morning mist squeaking with each step. 

“Where are we going?” he called after him as he disappeared around the corner. 

“On an adventure! Come on antichrist keep up!”

  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
